1. Technical Field
The disclosed exemplary embodiments relate to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program, and in more detail, to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program that support effective use of functions provided by appliances.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, it has become increasingly common for desired functions to be provided by an appliance operating in combination with another appliance, such as when photographs stored on a PC (Personal Computer) in the home are viewed on a television set or when video stored by a video recorder is viewed on a television set in another room. Such appliances are connected to one another by a network such as an IP (Internet Protocol) Network, USB (Universal Serial Bus), or HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface), and as one example provide functions in accordance with guidelines such as DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance, Registered Trademark). The functions provided by a combination of a plurality of appliances may for example be functions that use the characteristics of the respective appliances, and provide a variety of user experiences (UX).
However, to make use of functions provided by a combination of a plurality of appliances, the user has to make settings of the respective appliances to be combined, which is complex. For example, at the development stage of the respective appliances, since it is not always possible to imagine what other appliances may be used in combination with a given appliance in the future, in many cases the operation manual of such appliance will not include the procedure for combining the appliance with other appliances. As a result, there have been cases where users have been unaware that functions are provided by a plurality of appliances in combination or where users have been aware but have had difficulty in setting the respective appliances, resulting in users being unable to make sufficient use of the functions provided by a combination of a plurality of appliances.
For this reason, technologies for providing users with information relating to functions provided by a combination of a plurality of appliances have been developed. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-022224 discloses a technology that displays functions that can be used in accordance with a user selection and/or usage history and transmits instructions required to provide a function selected by the user out of the displayed functions to a plurality of appliances to be combined. Also, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2009-146146 discloses a technology that acquires operation procedures required for functions that can be used from a plurality of appliances to be combined, displays the operation procedures, and executes the operation procedure required for a function selected by the user out of the displayed operation procedures on the plurality of appliances to be combined.